Wildfires

Wildfires continue to burn across Idaho as temperatures reach scorching, triple-digit highs. Firefighters say they’re getting the upper hand on one big fire, but another is raging unchecked in terrain that hasn’t burned in 80 years.

Resources are wearing thin as wildfires burn in 11 western states. Firefighters are getting an international assist from Australia and New Zealand. Teams from the two countries spent the weekend in Idaho training before being deployed to the West Coast to battle flames in California, Oregon and Washington.

Firefighters continue making gains on the Sharps Fire burning in the Wood River Valley. However, the hundreds of people on the fire lines aren’t getting any breaks from the weather. The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning for the region.

The sky across much of Idaho is noticeably diminished as smoke from a range of wildfires hovers in the atmosphere. As firefighters continue to battle large fires in the western and central regions of the state, meetings to keep area residents up to speed are planned.

7/31 UPDATE: Several large fires continue to burn across Idaho. Firefighters are hoping to get a handle on them ahead of change in the weather expected to set in Wednesday. The forecast indicates temperatures will cool slightly, meaning more bearable conditions for firefighters as they battle blazes. However, the cooling will bring a chance of thunderstorms and winds which could help spread flames and spark new fires.

Boise State Public Radio reporter Frankie Barnhill provides updates on the 2018 wildfire season on Idaho Matters on Wednesday, July 18, 2018.

The West is heating up and the forests are drying out ... we're headed into peak wildfire season in Idaho. We check in with Boise State Public Radio's Frankie Barnhill on where the fires are, and what the forecast might tell us about what's to come in the next few weeks.

The Lodgepole Fire was a prescribed burn set in late April. The goal was to torch dry grasses and brush in an area north of Crouch, to prevent a wildfire from running loose in the forest. But over the weekend, forest managers declared it a wildfire after it failed to burn out by itself.